Who's The Queen Of The Castle?
by Roma Fawcette
Summary: Sadie McKinnon has done her waiting; with some familiar faces as her back up, she will turn the Wizarding World upside down. Dumbledore never saw it coming. Oh, and Voldemort had better watch out too. Dumbles bashing, Ron bashing, Molly bashing. H/G, Bill/OC J/L
1. Chapter 1

Everybody knows about the Killing Curse.

Avada Kedavra.

But precious few know of the Stasis Charm.

Avada Kedavra.

This charm uses the same incantation and wand movement as the Killing curse, but has a different intent.

Allow me to explain.

For every charm, spell, jinx, curse or hex you need three things for it to work. An incantation, a wand movement and intent. You have to know what you want the spell to do, clearly focus on the results, and push your intent through your wand hand and out of the wand.

Some spells even need a particular emotion to produce results. For example;

The Cruciatus curse. Crucio. The Torturing curse. To perform it, you need to want to hurt somebody. You need to feel hatred, pure, unadulterated hatred. You need to feel it in your very core.

The Patronus Charm. Expecto Patronum. The Guardian Spell. To perform it, you need to be able to conjure up a happy memory. Let it fill you. Expel it with enough force to create a force of pure good.

As it is with many spells, it is with the Avada Kedavra. To kill, you need to wish someone dead with every fibre of your being. Force pure hatred from your wand, much as you did with the Cruciatus but _stronger_, in an acid green jet.

If you do not feel enough hatred, are irritated or simply want someone out of your way, grass green light is expelled from your wand. And instead of killing, the curse just – pauses, so to speak. Perhaps freezes would be a better description, but without the lack of heat.

And so the stasis charm is born. It freezes the body, and has been likened to petrification. The only difference between a stasis body and a freshly dead body is a grass green reflection in the eyes of the victim, often overlooked. Mostly, nobody bothers to look.

Once identified, the stasis must be lifted for the body to become animate once more. The stasis charm has an unlimited lasting period, and a stasis body will remain in stasis for evermore if not treated with the counter curse of _Evigilare Faciatis._ This lifts the stasis, and the only side effect is that of dizziness for the first hour after the curse is lifted, so it is important to give time for the afflicted to recuperate after their 'death'.

Nobody except those who have studied with High Goblins has ever heard of the Stasis Charm.

Isadora McKinnon studied it intensively for four years.

She realised that it was a Stasis that Lily and James Potter had been hit with, not the Killing Curse. This was the first time Voldemort had not outright killed. That man had a seemingly unending supply of hatred.

Albus Dumbledore realised it too.

Isadora McKinnon lifted the charm immediately, and watched over her friends as they convalesced, until their minds had recovered from the Stasis state.

Albus Dumbledore planned for nobody to ever discover that the Potters had never actually died.

"Albus, what the hell were you thinking? You know as well as I do that Harry doesn't deserve to grow up without any parents! Where is your sense of moral dignity?" Sadie yelled out frantically, wanting to pace but unwilling to leave the comfort of the chintz armchair that she had conjured. Sadie congratulated herself on her magic abilities, before turning back to the matter at hand.

"It matters not about my dignity, it only matters that Harry becomes susceptible! I must have him under my control for the dark lord to be defeated!" Albus shouted with a crazed look in his eye as he shovelled lemon drops into his mouth.

"I have overlooked enough of your mistakes, Albus. I turned the other cheek when you refused to let me search for Marley, I forgot about my plan to seek out Gideon and Fabian but this time you've gone too far. To create a pawn out of a naïve little boy who lost his parents because of you? Now I _know_ you're one knut short of a galleon. And besides, I heard that Sirius is getting a life sentence in Azkaban for betraying the Potters! That's codswallop! He would never – hang on, did I just say codswallop? I'm spending too much time with Hagrid – he would never betray Lily and James, and they told me he wasn't even the Secret Keeper! You have to do something! You have so much influence in the Wizengamot, you're Supreme Mugwump, for heaven's sake! Get him out of Azkaban, and let him live life as a free man!"

"No!" Albus cast a body bind on Sadie, not trusting her not to leave the office before his plan was complete. "Miss McKinnon, you do not understand just how delicate I must treat this situation. With Lily and James out of the way, it is only you, Sirius and Remus that stand in the way of Harry becoming my Boy Who Lived! If I help Sirius, he will want to care for Harry himself, give him a good life! I cannot allow that to happen! Convincing Remus he was a monster unfit for caring for another was easy, a simple compulsion charm took care of that, and he is no longer threatening my guardianship of Harry, and now… only you stand in my way. But I have a solution for that… oversight." He snatched up a crystal vial that was waiting on the desk and uncapped it. In one swift motion he forced her mouth open and poured the potion down her throat. Sadie coughed, attempting to spit out as much as possible before it could activate. "It is a permanent de-aging potion, made by Severus, and irreversible – hence the term permanent. Remarkable invention, don't you think? You will soon be a 10 year old, my dear. As for the brat's parents, a simple memory modification will do the trick. Not much, just his location and appearance. They will still know that they had a son called Harry, and what happened. I am not evil, Sadie."

Sadie began to shrink. "Not evil, but just twisted. This will be torture for them! Albus, I will never forgive you for this! I will have my revenge on you! You will see the error of your meddling ways!" she shrieked. "Hmm, that sounded a lot less cliché in my head," she mumbled.

The transformation was completed just as the door opened, and a confused Minerva McGonagall appeared. "Albus! Where is Isadora McKinnon?"

Dumbledore adopted a saddened appearance, eyes twinkling. "I am afraid Miss McKinnon was killed by death eaters an hour ago." McGonagall sat down heavily in shock, eyes tearing up, then realised that there was a young girl in the room. She straightened, settling back into her mask of sternness and efficiency.

"Who is this, Albus?" she asked briskly, the only indication of her grief being the more pronounced Scottish brogue with which she spoke. Dumbledore smirked, his eyes twinkling annoyingly, and internally winced at his deputy's enhanced accent.

"This is Sadie… Penny. She is a muggleborn, and her parents, _Lola_ and _Jimmy_, have concerns about her attending Hogwarts next year. I invited her here to assuage her doubts." Sadie sat there in overly large clothing, fuming silently but unable to correct him due to the silencing and tongue tying curses he had discreetly shot at her as he spoke.

"I see. I hope you can attend Hogwarts next year, Miss Penny," McGonagall nodded curtly, then hurried from the room. There was an audible sniff from outside the office, but no footsteps led away from the spiral staircase.

"I shall see you next year, Miss _Penny_." With a mad sparkle in his eye that made Sadie vow to learn just how he did that weird twinkly thing, Dumbledore pushed her into the fire, adding a dash of floo powder and shouting out; "Seventeen, Magnolia Crescent, Little Whinging, Surrey!"

Albus sat back in his chair, satisfied. Ah, yes, everything was going exactly as planned. Soon the Greater Good would have a new pawn! And, he thought, after that irritating dark lord was defeated, he would free his lover from that blasted prison and they would rule the world, making Muggles rue the day they forced the magical world into hiding!

A maniacal laugh filled the office. The Castle, the very sentient being behind the wards, grumbled from their hiding place.

Then they smiled.

Sadie _Penny_ was going to help them to oust Dumbledore from his place of perpetual power.

They chuckled slightly. Ah, alliteration. Such an amusing way to use figurative Language.

The castle ghosts groaned as the portraits ran for cover, dust forming a light coating on the staircases as the roof shook with the force of Castle's laughter.

"Not again!" Moaned Sir Nicholas.

"We don't care about your writing devices, you know!" The Grey Lady called, exasperated.

"Now now, settle down. Let Castle have her fun!" the Friar scolded.

"Oh shut up, you ugly old monk!" snapped the Bloody Baron irritably. "I've had about enough of your all's well that ends well attitude! We are all sick of your constant rambling about Peeves and second chances! Nobody really believes all that claptrap, you know!"

"Leave him alone!" Grey Lady came to the Friar's defence. "Just because you are too bloody sour to enjoy death, doesn't mean we cannot! You chose to become a ghost because of your own petty fear, so stop terrorizing people because of your permanent PMS!"

"Well said!" Nick nodded approvingly at the words of the ugly picture of the drunk monk.

"Indeed," he agreed, gliding away in a stately manner.


	2. Chapter 2

Dinner with the Order was never a quiet affair. There were many social circles, and many individual conversations within those circles, which made it difficult for an onlooker to glean any knowledge. That, of course, was the point.

Bill Weasley, Remus Lupin, and Arthur Weasley were having an intense conversation about goblins.

"They're not giving anything away yet," Bill was saying. "I still can't work out whether or not they believe he's back. Course, they might prefer not to take sides at all. Keep out of it."

"I'm sure they'd never go over to You-Know-Who," said Mr Weasley, shaking his head. "They've suffered losses too; remember that goblin family he murdered last time, somewhere near Nottingham?"

"I think it depends what they're offered," said Lupin. "And I'm not talking about gold. If they're offered the freedoms we've been denying them for centuries they're going to be tempted. Have you still not had any luck with Ragnok, Bill?"

"He's feeling pretty anti-wizard at the moment," said Bill, "he hasn't stopped raging about the Bagman business, he reckons the Ministry did a cover-up, those goblins never got their gold from him, you know -"

A gale of laughter from the middle of the table drowned the rest of Bill's words. Fred, George, Ron and Mundungus were rolling around in their seats.

"… and then," choked Mundungus, tears running down his face, "and then, if you'll believe it, 'e says to me, 'e says, 'Ere, Dung, where did ya get all them toads from? 'Cos some son of a Bludger's gone and nicked all mine!' And I says, 'Nicked all your toads, Will, what next? So you'll be wanting some more, then?' And if you'll believe me, lads, the gormless gargoyle buys all 'is own toads back orf me for a lot more'n what 'e paid in the first place -"

"I don't think we need to hear any more of your business dealings, thank you very much, Mundungus," said Mrs Weasley sharply, as Ron slumped forwards on to the table, howling with laughter.

"Beg pardon, Molly," said Mundungus at once, wiping his eyes and winking at Harry. "But, you know, Will nicked 'em orf Warty Harris in the first place so I wasn't really doing nothing wrong."

"I don't know where you learned about right and wrong, Mundungus, but you seem to have missed a few crucial lessons," said Mrs Weasley coldly.

Fred and George buried their faces in their goblets of Butterbeer; George was hiccoughing. For some reason, Mrs Weasley threw a very nasty look at Sirius before getting to her feet and going to fetch a large rhubarb crumble for pudding. Harry looked round at his godfather.

"Molly doesn't approve of Mundungus," said Sirius in an undertone.

"How come he's in the Order?" Harry said, very quietly.

"He's useful," Sirius muttered. "Knows all the crooks - well, he would, seeing as he's one himself. But he's also very loyal to Dumbledore, who helped him out of a tight spot once. It pays to have someone like Dung around, he hears things we don't. But Molly thinks inviting him to stay for dinner is going too far. She hasn't forgiven him for slipping off duty when he was supposed to be tailing you."

"So, what were you saying about Ragnok, Bill?" Mr Weasley asked seriously. Bill scrubbed his hand across his face wearily.

"Well, the only wizard – well, witch, really, that he'll speak to is the only curse breaker who's currently off on an extremely extended holiday."

"Who?" Lupin asked, leaning forwards.

"Oh, Penny. She left just after Sirius escaped from Azkaban. The most I ever got out of the goblins was that she had gone to search for her twin sister, but the Curse Breakers said she was scared of you, Sirius. It always struck me as strange, because although I never heard anything about her having a sister, and I was in the same year as her, she was never afraid of you in the slightest. In fact, I remember her being enraged that you never got a trial, first year at Hogwarts. I'd never mention it to the other Breakers, because every time the prophet came and she saw you on the cover, she made an odd face and left the room. They made fun of her for it once she left, but only because they were infuriated that she'd abandoned us at such short notice. We really relied on her."

Lupin frowned. "Tell us more about her."

Bill looked rather taken aback. "OK. She was a Gryffindor, like me, and her parents never dropped her off at the Platform. She says she was adopted just before Hogwarts, and she never called her parents Mum and Dad, she called them Lola and Jim instead. Um… she's an expert at obscure curses and wards. There wasn't a raid where we came back empty handed, until she left. The goblins seem to trust her more than any other employee, she's allowed in high security vaults, and she got extremely high marks in her OWLs and NEWTs, even though she didn't do well in general lessons. She didn't try to, really. Always said there were more important things to attend to in life than lessons. She doesn't even really enjoy Curse Breaking, she prefers to research some strange curse that she can't tell anyone about 'for safety reasons'. She can break any ward on any tomb, in five seconds flat. She's a wiz at Arithmancy and Ancient Runes, and it's as if she spent 15 years with the goblins, instead of 5."

"Bragging about me again, Weasley?" heads whirled in the direction of the amused voice. A tall, willowy woman stood there, smirking at the shocked looks on their faces.

She had a blonde bob, sleek and cut to mid-neck, and her doe brown eyes sparkled with amusement and no small amount of mischief. She wore ripped skinny jeans and ankle boots, and the tee shirt under her tan leather jacket spelled out in stark black against the white fabric; 'the Nargles don't believe in _you_, either'. Tucked casually under her arm was the latest edition of Xenophilius Lovegood's 'The Quibbler'.

Bill was the first to recover from the shock. "Sadie! How are you?"

She raised an eyebrow, the simple questioning gesture turning him beetroot red in embarrassment. "You know, Billie, asking about my welfare doesn't hide the fact that I walked in on you practically singing my praises!" she raised her wand high in the air and shot out several fluorescent orange streamers. Bill put his head in his hands as she squealed. "YOU DO LIKE ME AFTER ALL!" she shrieked, doing a short little happy dance which involved flapping arms and stomping her feet furiously on the floor.

She smirked at Mrs Weasley's horrified face.

Kingsley Shacklebolt stood up tall. "How did you get through the wards?" he asked, his voice thundering across the kitchen and making the teens in the room cringe. Sadie, however, smirked unabashedly as though she faced down tall, angry aurors every day before her morning coffee and was quite bored with having to deal with them.

"Oh, that weak old Fidelius? I'm not a Curse Breaker for nothing, you know! Psh, my adopted parents are more protected than this mouldy old dump! It's lucky I am on the side of the light. You should consider second guessing your leader once in a while. There are many ways to counter a Fidelius!" she turned her back on him, and stared around at the kids in the room. "Fred! George! My current two favourite trouble makers! How's the joke shop going?" Fred and George looked over at their slowly reddening mother and grinned evilly.

"Great!" they chorused. Sadie turned to Ron and Ginny, with considerably less enthusiasm.

"Ronnie! So _good_ to see you!" Ron narrowed his eyes, and said nothing.

Ginny eyed Sadie warily.

"Hello, Ginny," Sadie said quietly, eyeing the redheaded girl almost pityingly.

Sadie finally turned her attention to Hermione, and Ginny breathed a subtle sigh of relief. "Well, I have never seen you in my life! Who are you, then?" she shot an accusing look at Bill over her shoulder, as though it was his fault that they had not yet been introduced.

"I'm Hermione Granger. I'm Ron's friend." Hermione answered uncertainly. Sadie's eyes flickered to Ron, who was making a disgusted face at the back of Hermione's head, and back to Hermione, who eyed her suspiciously, but not malevolently.

"Hello, Hermione." She said kindly, turning to Harry. "And who are you then?" she frowned lightly, as though trying to remember something. Ron snorted.

"Don't tell me you don't know who this is!" he called out sceptically. Harry shot him a vaguely irritated look, annoyed by his rude attitude. It was refreshing to have somebody ask who he was for once, instead of instantly recognising and informing him of his own name.

"I'm Harry Potter." Sadie's face showed no shock, no reverence, but something in her eyes showed her emotions flickering between triumph and urgency.

"Nice to meet you, Harry." She said quickly, turning to Bill. "Bill, I'd love to stay and chat, but I just remembered some vital information as to the whereabouts of my sister." She made her way to the kitchen door. "Bye, Billie!" she called, Disapparating.

"Aren't you going to go after her, Bill?" Mr Weasley asked uncertainly. Bill snorted.

"No, thanks. I don't fancy being hexed; Sadie's created a lot of awful jinxes that would be detrimental to my well-being. And she doesn't take well to being tailed."

"Well someone should go after her! She could be dangerous!" Mrs Weasley claimed. Bill shot her a reproving glare.

"I know that for some reason you and Ron don't like her, mum, and somehow you've convinced Ginny that Sadie's not to be trusted, but she's not dangerous, and nobody could find her if they tried. Despite not knowing where she is, I do know that she will have already warded the place she has gone to heavily; she won't take any chances, she never has." Moody nodded, seeming fascinated by the woman's CONSTANT VIGILANCE!

"Do you think she would join the order?" Remus asked, screwing up his face in concentration as he tried to remember where he had seen her face before. Bill snorted again.

"Not bloody likely! She is not dark, and is fully on the side of the light, but she positively detests Dumbledore." The Order looked shocked, and Ron and Molly scowled.

"I've said it before, and I'll say it again, Bill, I don't trust her! If she hates Dumbledore, she hates the Light!" Bill stood up.

"Her biological parents were killed by death eaters before her 10th birthday. She may hate Dumbledore, but she hates the Dark Side more! She's a bit like the goblins; neutral until further notice." Molly opened her mouth to protest, but Sirius cut her off.

"She reminds me of Isadora. Do you remember her, Remus?" Remus slapped a hand to his head in realisation.

"That's who she looked like! Of course I remember her! She was Marlene's twin sister; best friends with Lily. The three were inseparable! I remember she never got into a relationship – the complete opposite of Marley." Sirius got a dreamy look in his eye as he continued where his best friend left off.

"Ah, Marlene. God, she was lovely. I was the last person to… to see her. My own brother cast the curse that did it, you know." He sighed deeply, then straightened. "My point is, Sadie reminds me of Isadora McKinnon, and I could always rely on that Sadie to listen, and keep my secrets, so I will rely on this Sadie, too." Bill smiled at Sirius, as Sadie's voice came from the doorway.

"Aww, that's so sweet!" she exclaimed. Heads turned towards her, and she smirked. That smirk remained on her face as she saw Sirius, and the expectant glances that were being cast at her. Slowly, sarcastically, she raised her hand to her mouth in an extremely fake gasp. "Oh no! It's Sirius Black, the supposed murderer!" another girl appeared behind her, in a tattered skirt and a tight tank top with a rip at the hip. She was almost identical to Sadie, though slightly worse for wear, as if she had been in a battle recently.

"What have you dragged me into now, Sadie? We are going to be killed, you say?" she deadpanned, before glancing at Sirius. Despite his waxy skin and thin frame, he was still quite handsome. She smirked appreciatively. "Well, if it's him then I sure wouldn't mind." She winked at the escaped prisoner, who gaped like a fish. Here was an exact replica of Marlene McKinnon!

Sadie grimaced. "Well, to each their own, I guess." She muttered. The Marlene-lookalike slapped her head, scowling playfully.

Bill looked around at his speechless colleagues, realising that they were not going to speak. "Sadie, who's this?" the Marlene-lookalike smirked at him suggestively, wincing as Sadie pinched her savagely, before smiling innocently at her Weasley friend.

"This is my twin sister… Lenora Penny. She was lost about 15 years ago, and now I found the annoying twit, I'm beginning to regret recovering her!" Lenora slapped her arm gently in reproach.

"Zip it, Sadie." She commanded in a low voice.

"Whatever. You could have at least made yourself more presentable, you know. Hey," Sadie started with a grin. "You have 15 years of dishes to wash, sweetie!"

"That's not –" Marlene started.

"Nope!"

"But I was-"

"No excuses!" Sadie sang.

Marlene smirked at her. "More fool you! Li…L…Lil… I mean, Ja…J-J-J… damn! The old goat put a bloody tongue tying curse on us!"

Sadie ignored the nervous glances being sent their way, and asked sweetly. "What's for supper?"

"Stew." Mrs Weasley said tersely. Remus and Sirius stifled grins at her stiff attitude. Lenora winked at Sirius, smiling at Remus. Sirius swallowed thickly, his Adam's apple bobbing.

"Yay! Let's eat."

Mrs Weasley slammed the dish down rather harder than necessary in Sadie's place. Sadie shook her head, as though watching a naughty toddler.

Everyone tucked in to their meal except Sadie and Lenora. Sadie yanked out her wand and moved it quickly, muttering complex charms under her breath. A thin layer of cloying dust like powder lifted off and vanished. Sadie looked vaguely annoyed, and yet also amused at the same time. She quickly did the same to Lenora's meal, yielding the same result. Sadie gritted her teeth. Lupin heard her muttering.

"If they have to try to control us, they could at least have the common decency to be a bit original!" Lenora shot her a look, and Sadie grumbled and began to eat.


	3. Chapter 3

A mobile phone rang, turning many heads as a strange song emitted from one woman's pocket.

_*Weeeellll the duck walked up to the lemonade stand, and he said to the man running the stand –*_

Sadie flipped open the mobile phone and pressed it to her ear.

"Sadie here."

"_SADIE!"_ all eyes turned to her, and she raised a brow, the only indication that she was embarrassed being a faint blush that rose from the neckline of her tee shirt.

"No need to shout. What's up?" she popped the 'p' coolly, looking for all the world as though she hadn't just been subject to intense scrutiny.

"_Status update. You've gone quiet on us, Sadie_!" the person on the other line sounded reproving.

"Right, sorry. Well, I have 3 Hs, two definite As, at least 7 Ns, and an undecided." Sadie reeled off, staring around the room.

"_Really?"_

"Yeah. And… LE, and GG." she winced waiting for the explosion.

"_WHAT? You found Lily's Eyes? With Greasy Git? What the hell are they doing?"_ Remus was eyeing Sadie carefully, inconspicuously listening to every word she said. She lowered her voice just slightly.

"Ordering… chicken, I think. So, what's going on at home?"

"_Lily's furious! AJ was going to bed, and the Dementors came!"_ Lenora's eyes widened as Sadie suddenly went very pale, clenching her fist around her knife. Her dark eyes glittered dangerously.

"What did you just say?" she hissed, voice soft, deadly.

"_Dementors. Down the shortcut between Wisteria Walk and Magnolia Crescent."_ The voice on the other line sounded as though they were waiting with bated breath for the explosion.

"Did you just say… DEMENTORS?" Sadie shrieked. Everyone glanced over at her in shock and fear, eying her hand on the knife, and Lenora simply shook her head.

"_Whoa, calm yourself! Junie, AJ, Lily and I are fine, Sadie. You worry too much! Anyway, where are you currently?"_

"I already told you, ordering chicken! Now, I am going to go and get my god daughter now, and she is going to meet her other sister or so help me Merlin I am going to be enjoying some venison tomorrow!"

"_You found her? Brilliant!"_ the man speaking ignored the clear threat, though his voice shook almost imperceptibly at her words.

"Yes, and I'm coming for AJ now, so if you know what's good for you, you _will_ let me take her." There was a sadistic smile on her face as she spoke, quietly but deliberately, soaking her words with a warning.

"_I don't know, Sadie, Twinkles may harm her! Also, she looks too much like her_ _mother; the Greasy Git may have a fit! Not that I'd mind if he did,"_ Remus was piecing together what he heard, and he frowned deeply. That was impossible…

Sadie smirked. "That's what I'm hoping for…" she purred, before hanging up on the laughing man at the other end of the line.

"Who was that?" Bill asked.

"Oh, just Jimmy, checking in on me. I'm going out for a bit, m'kay? Lenny, will you be OK with handling the masses for about ten minutes while I nip out?"

Lenora smiled. "It's almost as if you don't trust me, Sadie!"

Sadie winked at her, swept over to give a blushing Bill a kiss on the cheek, and yelled out; "Delacour says Hi, Beeeell!" before Disapparating. Bill groaned.

8*88*88****888*88*88*88*88888******88888*88*88*88* 888****88*88*8

There was a light drizzle of rain in suburban Surrey.

The park was empty, the only movement being the ominously swaying swing set, and the gently revolving roundabout. A figure stood in the corner, observing the park with keen eyes.

They wore dark clothing, and even more disturbing was the dark umbrella. That spelled 'psychopath', regardless of the intentions of the figure in

question. Literally. They wore a leather jacket with brightly coloured fluorescent letters proclaiming 'PSYCHOPATH' across the shoulders on the back.

Suddenly the deceptive quiet of the park was shattered by two loud CRACKS in quick succession. The before still figure leapt into action, squealing in a very _non_ psychopathic way.

"NEVILLE! LUNA! How are you?"

"We're good, Isadora, but honestly, the bumbling act is so hard! I hate that nobody knows that I enjoy potions! I hate that I can't even show the Greasy Git what I can do, because it would blow everything! By the way, I love your jacket. Very subtle." Neville burst out, straight to the point.

"It does get tiresome. I wait and wait for somebody to work out my metaphors, yet my own bloody house isn't intelligent enough to understand it!" Luna added, looking agitated. Sadie shifted on the spot.

"First of all, hello to you too, guys, yes I'm fine, and yes I did get over that cold. Lily finally managed to remember the recipe for Pepper Up potion. Second of all, thanks, Neville, I had it made specially. Third of all… I'm sorry guys. I never realised that Neville would be teased, or that Luna would be shunned. You should forget about your mission. Just go back to your lives." she looked down sadly, glancing up through her lashes occasionally.

"Oh Sadie, you are thick!" Luna exclaimed at once. "Our lives are our mission! Daddy's trained me for this since Mummy died! Neville's trained for this since his parents were admitted to Mungos! That's 14 years, Sadie; do you think anyone would give up after all that? We are in this together, Sadie, and you better not forget it! You may be 35 in mind, but you understand us teens perfectly."

"I was prepared to be teased; Luna knew she would be shunned, but we did this because we owe this to the light! And we love you like a sister, silly!" he looked around. "Now where's AJ?" he demanded. "You said you were collecting her! Let me meet her, Sadie!"

"AJ's at home. Wanna come see her parents?" Sadie asked, hiding her smugness at the successful guilt trip. They fell for it every time! Neville and Luna glanced at each other, looking vaguely uncomfortable with Sadie's manic grin.

"What's got you in such a good mood?" Neville asked.

"…I infiltrated the Order!" Sadie finally burst out. Neville and Luna looked at each other, and laughed lightly, congratulating their friend.

"Good for you, Sadie!"

"That'll show 'em!"

"Was Ron there?" Neville asked, smile fading slowly.

"Yeah." Sadie scowled. "Nasty little rat-loving muggle-hating _swine_."

"I bloody hate that git." growled Neville. "He's the reason I never got to be friends with my god-brother! Practically _chased_ us away first night of first year, saying that Harry didn't want to be friends with nobodies like us!"

"Ron is a git." Luna said simply. "He is a jealous git, and one day Harry will recover from the loyalty charms and potions that he's being drugged with. That is when we'll strike." there was silence as they fumed.

"I found my sister too." Sadie said randomly. The two teens' heads snapped up.

"You found Marlene? Great!" Neville said.

"What will you be focusing on now?" Luna asked.

"Well," Sadie began with a grin, "It's more what I will be perfecting…"

"Just tell us, will you?" Neville shouted excitedly.

"Neville, I found a way to give you back your parents."

Silence.

"…What?"

"Well, I have studied your memories of visits, and compared them with other cases, and your parents have not been insane all these years. There is a tricky little piece of magic that causes somebody to lose the ability to respond to anything in any way that is recognisable to humankind. That is what they were hit by. The counter charm was lost to time."

"So how does that help us?" Luna asked, thinking hard.

"Luckily, it was not forgotten by the house-elves."

"How'd you get it out of them?" Neville asked eagerly. Sadie allowed herself a smug grin.

"I bought one, of course!"

Luna rolled her eyes. "Of course you did."

They had reached the door of Sadie's house. Sadie raised a hand, but instead of knocking, barged straight through the door.

"HONEY, I'M HOME!" she yelled, strolling into the kitchen.

"Well, well, well. Who is this stranger then?" asked a young voice. Neville and Luna span around to see an auburn haired girl around Luna's age eying them with considerable amusement, even as she wiped floury hands on her apron.

"JJ!" Sadie yelled, going to hug the teen, but thinking better of it as she eyed the messy apron warily.

"Doth mine eyes deceive me? Is this really mine own Isadora, cometh home to me? Is it thou, Sadie? Is it truly thine own face?" she asked dramatically, holding her hands to her cheeks. When she removed them, she had two floury handprints on her cheeks.

Sadie burst out laughing. JJ looked confused.

Neville took pity on her, leaning forwards and wiping the flour off her face, showing her his powdery finger. She blushed profusely.

"Thanks," she muttered. Luna pressed the pads of her fingers on one hand against the ones on the other. The gesture was clear to anyone who had taken the oath of Candour (Sadie's choice of name and completely mental in Neville's opinion. What did it even mean?), and knew the basic signals that Sadie forced them to learn ("You never know when you may need it!" was her defence). _We will be having words later._

Neville gulped.

"I'm JJ Potter, nice to meet you." JJ stuck out a hand in greeting. Luna shook it.

"I'm Luna Lovegood. Pleasure."

"Neville Longbottom. Likewise." Neville said.

"Where are your parents, Junie-Jen?" Sadie asked in a singsong voice. JJ sighed in a way that convinced Neville and Luna that she was well used to their friend's crazy antics.

"Sitting room with Alice. And _must_ you be so irritating all of the time?" Sadie smiled infuriatingly in response, skipping from the room. JJ ran into the kitchen, then returned with a plate of fresh scones, minutes later.

"You bake?" Luna asked. JJ nodded, almost tripping on the doorjamb and saving the scones just in time.

"I'm home schooled, and it's quite hard to occupy myself, so I bake things. A lot." she shrugged.

"Sadie called you Junie-Jen. Why?" Neville asked quietly. JJ sighed again.

"My name is Juniper Jennifer Potter, JJ or Junie for short. Sadie used to call me Junie Jen when I was upset. My sister's name is Alice, after your mother, Neville. Sadie was best friends with her, and she's furious that Mum and Dad named Alice after her. Said she wanted to do it herself."

Neville cleared his throat. "What'll she do now?"

"She'll name her child after your father." Junie smiled at him, before turning and yelling to nobody in particular. "WHO WANTS SCONES?"

"WE DO!" came Sadie and a man's voice in unison. Junie grinned, leading the two teens through the door on their left, tripping once more on the doorjamb and inciting a strangled yell of protest from the man in the room.

It was a colourful little room, all reds and golds and creams. Several squashy and comfortable looking armchairs were dotted around the room, with a large corner sofa on which a man and woman in their 30s both rested.

The woman, with flaming red hair and emerald eyes, had her feet curled up underneath her, and nursed a steaming hot chocolate. She had aged elegantly, and was currently laughing at something Sadie had said.

The man beside her had messy black hair and eyes that were a warm hazel in colour. He had laugh lines, and was trying as hard as he could not to gaze adoringly at his wife.

A little girl rested comfortably against the chintz armchair which Sadie was residing in. she looked like a replica of her mother, and she was playing contentedly with some building blocks which were spread messily out in front of her. She looked about 3 or 4 years of age.

Neville glanced over at Junie. She had her mother's fiery hair, but her father's warm hazel eyes, and was currently balancing precariously on one foot as she placed her load on the coffee table. Two of the four eyes in the room went immediately to the scones, as the two older women chatted animatedly, and James Potter's and Alice Potter's hands shot out to snatch up a scone each. Lily Evans Potter rolled her eyes and brought out a pile of notes as Sadie gestured wildly, almost knocking over a vase full of lilies. Lily winced, and drew her attention to the notes, bringing out a mechanical pencil and occasionally making a note of something in the margin.

Luna was staring at Sadie as she laughed. She was as happy as Luna had ever seen her; this was where Sadie belonged.

Alice tugged on Sadie's sleeve and pointed to the scones frantically. Sadie patted the little girl on the head and took one, grinning slightly as the little girl bounced.

"So Lily, I thought that the curse would allow me to say some things, and you; for example, I was talking to James at Grimmauld and Remus could hear what I James was saying. He is at the very least suspicious, and I believe if he figures us out the curse will be lifted – for him at least!" she clapped for emphasis, making a show of jazz hands to showcase her theory.

"Hm. That may be the case, and if so, we shall have to see if he contracts the curse like Marlene – sorry, _Lenora_, didn't you name her? – did."

"I think Marley contracted the curse through our twin bond, or maybe Dumbledore was just extremely thorough. Whatever the case, I don't think the tongue tying will be cast on Remus unless Twinkles finds out." Sadie insisted.

"Oi, Sadie, what's this I hear about a Weasley you are getting rather close to?" James asked, eyes narrowing.

"You know Fred and George are our allies, James, don't be silly!" Sadie giggled, flapping her hands as if waving away his comment.

"I was talking about the undecided. Bill Weasley, isn't it?" Sadie flushed.

"None of your business," she muttered, getting quieter and more sullen by the second. James, on the other hand, looked deeply amused, and told her so.

"This is hilarious! Almost half the family is marked as Hostile, and you've fallen for the Undecided!" Sadie flushed harder.

"Shut up, James! I haven't fallen for him; he is just a very good friend! And I have been working very hard on working out his loyalties, thank you very much!" she somehow managed to harrumph delicately. "So. There."

There was a short silence. Finally Lily spoke up.

"So how did you find Marlene?" Sadie grinned at this, leaning forwards in her seat.

"Old Dumbles is getting lazy; he tied Marley's location to Harry; when Harry met me, the memory charm lifted, and so did the one of Marley's location. Plus, I think Marlene knows where Gideon and Fabian Prewett are. Oh, I can't wait to see Molly Weasley's face when they turn up – under aliases, of course." She bounced slightly in anticipation. "I can't wait." She enthused.

James laughed. "Yeah, imagine the surprise on Molly's face when her 'dratted no good trouble making' brothers turn up on her doorstep!"

"Fred and George will love them, I'm sure," Lily said happily.

"Oh dear," Neville groaned. "God help the Gryffindor house."

Luna giggled, patting Neville consolingly on the head. He scowled up at her, muttering about patronisation. Junie gazed at the two longingly, hoping that she too could be that close to Neville – wait what?


	4. Chapter 4

There was a brief silence in Grimmauld place when Sadie left. It was swiftly broken by the suggestive cackling of the Weasley twins, Fred and George.

"Who is this Miss Delacour, Beeeeeeeeell?" Fred asked, struggling to contain his chuckles.

"Surely not the attractive veela from the Triwizard Tournament?" George added, eyes sparkling with mirth.

Bill blushed, and Tonks squealed. "Oh my god! It is!" his head snapped up, blush draining from his cheeks as he realised what they meant.

"No! No! She's being really odd, keeps following me around! I hate it!" he growled, head making contact with the palms of his hands. Remus patted his back reassuringly, attempting to stifle his laughter. Lenora frowned slightly, dredging up a face to the name and twisting her face in disgust and realisation.

"Is that the French trollop?" at everyone's incredulous stares, she shrugged. "Sadie's words, though I wish they were mine. It's true!" nobody averted their gaze. "Oh, for heaven's sake! She's a _veela! _If that doesn't scream 'trollop' I don't know what does!" she huffed, much to the amusement of the remaining marauders.

"I agree!" Sirius added. "Come on Arthur, you were at the World Cup. The Bulgarians had veela cheerleaders! Were they or were they not practically serving themselves on a platter to the fans?" the entire room leant forward, anticipating Arthur's answer.

Mr Weasley chuckled, wiping his glasses. "Yes, they were. If I recall, Harry tried to jump off the railing of the Top Box!"

Tonks whistled, impressed. "Wow, Arthur, you made the Top Box? Way to go!"

Fred and George snorted. "Yeah, I remember that," Fred said. "Harry looked good and ready to ravish those veela!" Harry blushed hotly.

"It was my first time seeing them!" he yelled in defence.

Hermione turned her nose up slightly in disgust. "It was all very animalistic. Almost… cave man like."

"All men are cave men, Hermione," laughed Lenora loudly, patting the teen on the back. "It's just that some are so hot that we forgive them!" Tonks giggled, not so inconspicuously eyeing up Lupin.

Sirius looked over to Lenora. She winked at him, and he had to fight a blush. Suddenly, there was a crash in the hallway, and Lenora sprang up eagerly and rushed to the door. Glancing warily at each other, the rest of the order followed.

"Stay there," Remus told the teenagers. They groaned and slumped in their seats dramatically.

8**8**8**8**8**8**8**8**8**8**8**8**8**8**8**8**8* *8**8**8**8

"Well, I had best be off," Neville yawned, stretching languorously and rising from his seat.

"Of course. Lovely to meet you, Neville. Come again any time!" Lily told him warmly.

"Thanks, Auntie Lil. See you, Uncle James. Nice meeting you, Junie and AJ!" Junie blushed at the use of her nickname. "See you in school, Loony. Bye, Sadie." Luna smiled and Sadie waved distractedly, eyes still fixed to her notes. Luna stood up.

"I'd better go too. Bye, James, Lily, Junie and AJ! Bye Sadie! Don't let the Wrackspurts get you down!" Sadie finally put down the sheaf of notes and smiled at Luna's retreating form.

"I won't, Loony. Don't worry. In fact, I had better go deal with the Order of Chickens. Come on AJ, we're going to go meet your Auntie Lenny!" she clapped her hands, but Lily stopped her with her vicious redhead glare (trade mark, patent pending).

"No you are not! I am not letting my baby anywhere _near_ those snakes! Especially Severus – no, Snivellus – Snape. Are you trying to draw attention to yourself?" Lily demanded, ignoring the huge smirk on James' face when she used the nickname the Marauders had used for Snape.

"Yes, I _am_ in fact trying to draw attention to myself, thank you, Lily pie. Because if I do, it is only a matter of time before someone figures out who I am! And then they will turn against Dumbledore and fight Voldemort as they should! It's _fool proof_!" Sadie declared.

"Hmm, yes, _totally_ fool proof, except for the fact that it is _not!_" Lily sniped.

"Let me try, Lily, at least. I don't want to live my life in the shadows. I don't want to live my life as the lie it is! And I know you don't want your son to die. There are much more efficient ways of destroying Horcruxes than death! I myself could do it, given half the chance with your son! But I won't _get _that chance unless we expose Dumbledore, Molly and her two youngest for the gold diggers they are. And think of the look on Snivellus' face when I appear with the _exact replica_ of his best friend! I'll even get it on tape for you!" Lily looked tempted, but attempted to appear stern.

"I don't know, Sadie, there is still so much to consider…"

"I think it is a wonderful idea, Lils. We have to let the kids have fun sometime, honey. And Sadie, won't you take Juniper too? It will shock Moony and Pads speechless. In fact, take a picture of all their faces, frame it, and give it to me as a Christmas present! We can hang it up on our wall." Junie giggled, and Lily let out a reluctant smile.

"Please, Mum? I really want to go!" Junie begged.

"Yes, _please_, Mummy! I want to meet Aunty Marlene!" AJ whined.

"Come on, Lily pie, let them come!" Sadie cajoled, giving Lily puppy dog eyes and pouting exaggeratedly.

"Go on, Lily flower, let them go, love." All four wheedled.

"Well… fine. But only for a little while!" Lily conceded grudgingly. They cheered, and three rushed out of the door. James hugged Lily close to him, laughing slightly as the girls rushed out of the door to Sadie's cry of "Run before she changes her mind!"

"I miss them, James." She murmured against his chest.

"I do too, Lily Flower. So much. But Isadora is fixing it for us. We'll be back with them before you know it." James soothed, pressing his lips to her fiery hair.

8**8**8**8**8**8**8**8**8**8**8**8**8**8**8**8**8* *8**8**8**8

Sadie, Junie and AJ apparated right into the troll leg umbrella stand. There was a loud thump as Sadie shrieked and toppled over, Junie stumbling but catching herself, wrapping a protective arm around AJ to prevent her getting hurt.

"Well _thanks_," Sadie bit out playfully. "I knew I could count on you to stop me falling. Now quick, help me up!"

Despite her plea, she clambered to her feet without any help and turned to the portrait of Walburga Black which was shrilly screeching nonsense.

"Urgh. Have you ever seen anyone so embittered and ugly, girls? Shut up, hag!" Sadie told it, flicking her wand lazily. The curtains closed on a yelp of pain, and AJ giggled. Junie smiled half-heartedly, eyeing the door warily.

The door to the parlour sprang open, and Lenora stood with the rest of the order behind her. Sadie rummaged through her bag as Bill made his way towards her cautiously. She scrunched up her nose, digging deeper into the handbag as Bill spoke.

"Sadie what did you do?" he asked nervously. Sadie finally pulled out a disposable camera, holding it in the air like it was the most precious thing in the world.

"Aha! Okay, I brought you my sisters. Juniper Jennifer Penny and Alice Jane Penny." She stepped back and brought the camera to her eye, snapping photos of the Order's shocked expressions and laughing quietly behind her hand.

All was silent as the adults and teens stared at the two girls, who were blushing profusely at the attention. Snape's eyes were fixed on AJ, whose fiery red locks and vibrant emerald green eyes were so familiar, it physically hurt.

Remus and Sirius had their eyes glued to Junie. Her hazel eyes reminded them with a heart wrenching tug of James, their fallen brother. In fact, her stature and red hair reminded them of Lily! _And, _Remus thought, _Alice Jane's features are just like James'! I feel like I'm so close to an answer!_

Sadie snapped a shot of Remus' semi-frustrated expression gleefully, knowing that he would soon figure it out.

"Is this them?" Lenora asked, voice trembling with emotion. "Is it really them?"

"Yep, it is! You are welcome. It was a right royal pain in the arse to get Lola to let them come, I'll tell you that!" Sadie said gleefully.

Lenora squealed, wrapping the two children into a huge hug. "Oh my god, it's you! Oh, I've been waiting _years_ for this moment!" behind her, Tonks was tearing up.

"You women and your sentimentality," Sirius shook his head, bemused.

"Excuse me?" Sadie's head snapped up. "Were you implying something about females?"

"NO! I mean, no, of course not!" Sirius squeaked, looking terrified.

"That's what I thought," Sadie scowled. Suddenly, her phone rang, with a different tune this time.

*_Here's a Llama, there's a Llama, and another little Llama, fuzzy Llama, funny Llama, Llama, Llama, Duck* _the phone warbled. Lenora shot Sadie a look over Junie's shoulder. Sadie, still scowling in Sirius' general direction and muttering several threats all aimed towards his – ahem – manhood, flipped open the phone. _* – Cheesecake Llama, tablet, brick, potato, Llama – *_

"Sadie here," she said crisply. With his werewolf hearing, Remus was able to hear the other end of the conversation.

"_SADIE, get your stupid friend to give me the remote control!"_ shrieked a female voice.

"So when he does something you don't like he's my friend, but when you like him he's your husband? That makes sense!" Sadie said sarcastically.

"_Shut your gob. Oh, I have it! Now, on to soaps – wait, someone at the door. James darling would you go get it? – sorry, Sades, you know how it is in the suburbs."_

"Actually, I don't. Spent the last year in Egypt, remember?"

"_Oh yes, of course, how could I forget a __**year's worth of silence**__ from my best friend? Who was it, James?" _there was a short silence, then a male voice yelled out;

"_It's Him, Lily!"_

"Who? Who is it? Guys, what's going on?" Sadie was frantic, gripping the phone tightly. Most eyes were now upon her, including Junie's worried gaze.

"_Sadie, it's Him. He's here for your research." _Sadie's eyes widened in horror.

"Well get rid of it then! Vanish it! I've got a spare copy in my bag, just – burn the bloody stuff for all I care, just _destroy it_. It cannot fall into his hands, do you understand me?"

"_Will do. See you, Sadie."_ The phone went dead. Remus stood rigid by the door, unmoving.

"Well this is awkward…" Lenora sang. "Come on, kiddies, you can meet Harry, Hermione and the Weasleys!"

"Harry? Like… Potter, Harry?" Sadie shot Junie a glare. "Oh, um, that's, um, cool."

"Well come on then, and we can see them!" Lenora herded the two through the door.

The Order followed, Bill lingering a second longer in the hallway, where Sadie was slumped against the wall, looking tired.

Remus was still stood by the door, motionless. He started at Sadie's quiet voice. "You figured it out yet?"

"No," he said glumly, mirroring her tone. "What's got you so upset all of a sudden?"

"Upset?" Sadie laughed, bouncing back to her loud bubbly self. "Not a chance. Irritated? Very. Tired? Extremely. Ecstatic? One hundred freaking per cent!"

"Why?" Remus asked.

"Because everything is finally falling into place!" Sadie said happily.

The same tune as before burst out of Sadie's phone. _*Here's a Llama, there's a Llama, and another little Llama – *_

"Sadie here," Sadie declared into the phone. "What's the situation?"

"_Burnt the notes. You sure you had a copy?"_ a male voice this time, same as the one that had called Sadie out earlier.

"Yeah, dead sure. Also, AJ and Junie are meeting their brother as we speak." Sadie grinned.

"_Harry's there? Really? Is it Grimmauld Place? I want to come!"_

"Whoa there, calm down. I'll bring AJ and Junie back in an hour, okay?"

"_Calm down, you want me to calm down? That's my son there, and my daughters are meeting him! You can't expect me to calm down after – oh hello Lily dear!"_ Sadie laughed evilly as the man forced happiness into his tone.

"_James Potter, you had better not have my phone in your hand! What happened to yours?"_

"Yeah, Ja-J-Jimmy. What happened to your phone?" Sadie teased.

"_Isadora McKinnon, you stay out of this! James, where did you put your phone?"_

"_I left it near the bath, and AJ pulled it in!"_

"Lily, don't _call_ me that name! Sadie! Say – dee. Not Izzy, not Isadora, not even Dora – just Sadie."

There was a moment's silence. Sadie turned to Remus.

"What name did I just say?" she asked him abruptly.

"Sadie?"

"No, the one before that." Sadie crossed her fingers.

"Lily, wasn't it?" Remus queried. Sadie jumped into the air with glee.

"YES! _Yes!_ It worked!" she pressed the phone to her ear. "The moon has howled, love birds. The moon has howled." There were noises of celebration on the line, then some quiet grunting and moaning. Sadie looked over at Remus and gagged at him. "They do this a lot. Watch." She cleared her throat. "STOP SNOGGING!" she yelled down the phone. There was silence, then Lily's embarrassed voice came onto the phone.

"Sorry, Sadie. Prongs distracted me," Lily giggled, and Remus heard her whisper something to James. Then James was on the line.

"Sorry, Sadie. Anyway, staging a code 3. As soon as possible." The line went dead, and Sadie looked irritated.

"I can't believe this! forcing a code three so he can play tonsil hockey with his wife! Be better to have Neville as base than that horny bugger!"

"Neville?" Remus asked, with a dazed look on his face. "Neville Longbottom? You know him?"

"Of course I do! But listen, I'm afraid if you want to learn anymore about what the situation is, you need to take an oath. It's a serious oath that will hold beyond death. Do you understand what I mean?" Sadie asked, for once serious.

"I think so. If I take this oath, will I get to see two of my best friends again?"

"Yes. You will also be inducted to the exclusive group known by the Goblin nation as 'Friends of Magic'. This means that you are not in any way prejudiced against magical creatures and will keep an open mind at all times when addressing said magical creatures. You will learn an entirely new language. But you will have a lot of responsibility. Are you willing to take on this challenge?"

Remus didn't have to think twice. "I will."

"I was hoping you would say that," Sadie winked at him. "Hold out your wand and repeat after me; I, Remus Lupin."

"I, Remus Lupin,"

"Wizard, werewolf and protector of innocents,"

"Wizard, werewolf and protector of innocents," Remus echoed determinedly.

"Do solemnly swear on my life, honour and magic,"

"Do solemnly swear on my life, honour and magic,"

"To keep the secrets entrusted to me by my fellow oath takers,"

"To keep the secrets entrusted to me by my fellow oath takers,"

"And trust that they in turn shall respect and keep my own secrets,"

"And trust that they in turn shall respect and keep my own secrets,"

"I swear that I will do my utmost to protect those in need and untangle the web of lies that the schemer Albus Dumbledore has created," There was no humour in Sadie's face, only fury and righteous indignation.

"I swear that I will do my utmost to protect those in need and untangle the web of lies that the schemer Albus Dumbledore has created,"

"And do my part to destroy the Dark Lord."

"And do my part to destroy the Dark Lord." Remus set his jaw. He would do this, even if it killed him.

"So it is said, so mote it be."

"So it is said, so mote it be." There was a flash of bright fluorescent orange light.

"What is it with you and fluorescent orange?"

Sadie tucked her wand back into an inside pocket of her jacket.

"It's my trademark," she said, her tone back to its former jolly self. "Now let's go rescue Harry. And after that, you can meet my 'parents'."


End file.
